<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/9754e9a3-ab42-4044-a6e7-b8d91b92c018.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/9754e9a3-ab42-4044-a6e7-b8d91b92c018.png"/> Author | Wang Xiaojun
Editor | Huang Yu
The cake that the logistics giant SF Holding actively relinquished may also be a tough nut to crack.
Recently, market news indicated that SF Holding did not participate in the 2026 Douyin e-commerce return service, which is a voluntary abandonment of this business market. On December 19, SF Holding responded, stating that the cooperation contract for the Douyin return business naturally expired and terminated, which is a normal business practice.
It is understood that starting from mid-December, the Douyin platform began a large-scale re-tendering for return service suppliers, with orders originally handled by SF Holding being split among multiple companies, forming a multi-regional subcontracting cooperation model.
According to the plan, five logistics companies—JD Logistics, Zhongtong, Yuantong, Yunda, and the Postal Service—will undertake Douyin e-commerce return services in different regions across the country, with JD Logistics positioned as the fallback service provider. Some regions have already begun the switch since December 16, and the nationwide service handover is expected to be completed by January 1, 2026.
SF Holding previously provided reverse logistics services for Douyin e-commerce, becoming the core carrier for platform returns. After 2022, the cooperation between the two parties deepened, with SF Holding gradually integrating Douyin's &#34;Yin Xu Da&#34; and other services to strengthen return fulfillment capabilities.
However, just three years after deepening cooperation, this partnership has hit the termination button, reflecting the rapid changes in the return industry.
This business adjustment by SF Holding is part of its overall strategy. In 2025, SF Holding will implement the &#34;Gain Plan&#34; to optimize its customer structure: focusing on expanding emerging markets in the first half of the year, and then concentrating on gross profit improvement in the second half, gradually eliminating customers with negative gross profit and renegotiating prices with customers experiencing declining gross margins.
At the same time, as Douyin e-commerce accelerates its growth to become a leading e-commerce platform, the return rate remains high, leading to stricter requirements regarding cost considerations and other aspects.
According to industry news, Douyin's total GMV for 2025 is expected to surpass 4 trillion yuan, approaching the e-commerce giant Pinduoduo. With such a massive transaction scale, even minor fluctuations in logistics costs will be significantly amplified.
Douyin e-commerce faces entirely different challenges in return logistics compared to traditional shelf e-commerce.
Returns in traditional shelf e-commerce are relatively stable, as users place orders after comparison and consideration, with returns mostly due to product discrepancies or quality issues. The logistics service providers for these platforms typically adopt large-scale, standardized processing methods.
In contrast, live-streaming e-commerce relies on host recommendations and instant promotions, leading to a high proportion of impulse purchases. This consumption model results in a return rate higher than that of traditional e-commerce platforms. The pressure of returns during peak periods can suddenly surge, requiring logistics service providers to possess high flexibility and adaptability.
Data from the E-commerce Research Center's monitoring in 2025 shows that the return rate for live-streaming e-commerce generally ranges from 30% to 60%, with some women's clothing categories seeing return rates as high as 80% during the &#34;618&#34; shopping festival.
A high return rate itself represents a larger volume of business for express delivery, but the requirements for return services place greater pressure on express service providers
Taking Douyin's return business itself as an example, informed sources indicate that Douyin's return request requires &#34;five minutes for the first response, verification of the pickup code within one hour, and same-day dispatch.&#34; This high standard of service requires couriers to set aside their ongoing deliveries to make special trips, disrupting the original low-cost operational rhythm.
SF Holding's exit from the Douyin return market will trigger multiple chain reactions.
For the Douyin platform, there may be a risk of declining service quality. The newly engaged logistics service providers also face severe challenges. Although JD Logistics guarantees service quality, its direct operation model has higher operational costs and insufficient end capacity in non-core business areas and lower-tier markets. The franchise system of &#34;three links and one reach&#34; is more adept at low-cost, large-scale e-commerce forward delivery, relying mainly on delivery fees for survival at its end points, making it difficult to meet the high demands for timeliness and service in return logistics.
In recent years, the volume of e-commerce return and exchange deliveries nationwide has increased from 3.6 billion in 2019 to 8.2 billion in 2023; Fengchao's prospectus predicts that by 2028, e-commerce reverse deliveries are expected to grow to 20.9 billion, exceeding an average of 50 million per day. The enormous market size means that return logistics is far from being a &#34;hot potato.&#34;
The curtain on this service transition has already been raised, and millions of return orders daily will test the capabilities of new logistics service providers, while also reshaping the market landscape of e-commerce reverse logistics.
As the e-commerce market enters an era of stock competition, the return and exchange experience has long become a key factor influencing consumer decisions. This forces courier companies to find a new balance between service and cost, while also testing how e-commerce platforms can improve product satisfaction to achieve a healthy return rate

SF Holding no longer accepts returns from Douyin